Are these the tires you're talking about:

http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/rc-min...?cPath=35_1386

Cheers

Yup, those are the ones. I ran some tonight on the M-05. Our track is indoor, on fairly sticky carpet. I used the 3Racing tires on the back and the Tamiya S-Grip Radials on the front. It proved to be a really good combination. Nicely balanced.

The only thing about the 3Racing tires is that they look like the kind of thing you'd see on a cheap rc toy from Walmart. Don't let appearances fool you, they're quite good.

Jim

Jim thats the combination i run on both my m04 and m03's, its perfect for carpet. If your stuck using tamiya tires only, put Type A's with hard inserts in the back and its very close, but the Type A's wear out very very fast. Thats why i LOVE these 3 racing tires. And I agree, they look disturbingly cheap (and they are cheap! lol) and they have a very hard feel to them, but i have no idea how they grip so well.

Errmmm....no...

so the 3-racing tires dont ware as mutch as m or s grip tires

Diffs
 

what is the main difference between the ball diff and the gear diff
and is there anymore types of diffs

While we are talking diffs. I just assembled my Manta Ray ball diff. How tight do I tighten the diff when its assembled? I have it pretty tight right now and its still smooth and doesn't really give much resistance.

Heya Austin, you got PM.

Jim

Gear diffs use gears for its differential action where ball diff's use balls. Open gear diffs aren't exactly adjustable. Sealed gear diffs are adjusted via diff oil. Ball diffs are adjusted via adjusting nut.
Other 'diffs' you can use are the one-way and the spool. The one way freewheels off power and locks up on power. The spool is always locked so the inner and outer axles always spin at the same speed.

Speaking of ball diffs. Is there a difference between the Manta ray diff and the TA03 diff? Does either one offer any sort of advantage over the other?

the only real differences is:
Manta Ray has heavier metal parts, and it has a wider gear.

I prefer the TA03, it is lighter, and since the gear is narrower it gives les resistance. But that is probably more in my mind than I feel it.

Oh, so you are running a rear wheel drive mini on carpet? You might be the person to talk to then. I have been trying to setup my M02 for carpet and it just doesn't work, I have to be really really easy on the throttle out of corners or it will spin out instantly. Any ideas?

I have tried all the tires and all combinations of inserts. SOme of them work but they all fall short of a really sticky tire out of corners. Some tires I tried are HPI cross pattern radials, Tamiya slicks (A-type 60D), radials Tamiya M, Tamiya S, Tamiya (normal), Tamiya XB kit tires (smaller diameter). INserts used are RS4 mini pro (kit) for HPI, hard foam and Sorex type A (touring insert cut to size) for Tamiya radials. On tarmac, I don't have problems, the car is very good. But on carpet, it's very fiddly with corner exits. I am using a lipo in the car compensated with lead to bring it up to 1350gr, lead is distributed evenly around the car, perhaps with a little bit of rear bias. Silvercan motor. Swaybars at both ends, Tamiya aluminium shocks, kit spring on the rear, on road tuning white spring on the front, two spacers (the largest) at either end, 40wt AE oil front, 30wt rear. Ball diff, largest motor pinion.

Am I asking the impossible? Is the RWD mini just like that and I have to live with it, or can I get it to behave?

thanks to everyone for your help

is there other types of ball and gear diffs than the stock tamiya ones

Regarding ball diffs I have found that they might start off smooth and tight when first assembled, with or without extra cone washers, 1150 bearing etc. However after a few runs they becomenotchy, not sure why this is but it has happened to most of mine, even when using lots of anti-wear grease. Perhaps the balls get flat spots when they tensioned down. This is using only the balls provided in the ball diffs.

I am trialling a tight gear diff for now. This appears to remain smooth after many runs.

Regards,

Calvin.

Mini Racer 95,

3Racing do a ball diff, you would be advised to stay away from it. Tech racing do a spool that fits inside the Tamiya gear diff. A Tamiya gear diff or ball diff can be made into a spool. Just need some superglue in a gear diff or pin/glue/screw a ball diff. The updated 3Racing ball diffs for the MO5 have not been released so no comment on there new products. Old one was a dog..

Later,

Calvin.